a break in the weather......SEQ Australia

Gee its been hot ..admittedly nothing like the extremes in other other parts of the country, but weve still had a few weeks of temperatures consistently in the high 30s .too hot for pleasant riding. So last Monday and Tuesdays forecast of 31-32c looked like a good opportunity for a little ride Ive been thinking about.
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<o></o>Load the Flat EarthTM navigational system.

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<o></o>Stick to the bitumen for the first hour or so from home.

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<o></o>First stop Kilkivan. Topped up the tank at the servo across the road from here. Shes lookin dry eh?

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<o></o>Mustve been a bit of a wild storm through Kinbombi area last night.a lot of branches down for a few kays along here.

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<o></o>Ah, this is what Im after . Im looking forward to a couple of days just cruising around on back roads.

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<o></o>Went past this station homestead somewhere along the way ..cant remember exactly where it was.

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<o></o>I probably shouldve enhanced this a bit, but I doubt itd make much difference. Its just down the western branch of the upper <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1lace w:st="on"><st1laceName w:st="on">Brisbane</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">River</st1laceType></st1lace>. If you look closely there are about half a dozen feral deer just to the right of the tree.

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<o></o>Just out east of Nanango somewhere. Hope you like pictures of a bit of road with a motorbike in the foreground therell be a few of them.

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<o></o>Just the other day we were just talking about those little National Trail markers. By the way I wasnt on the National Trail so much as the National Trail was on the road I was taking ..as it is a fair bit, at least around this general area.

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<o></o>Had a bit of a look around and got a bit bushed in the East Nanango Forestry for a while.

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<o></o>Ah, now (according to the Flat EarthTM, anyway) Im right but Im not real sure about Snowy!

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<o></o>Into Nanango, top up with fuel and head out sorta <st1lace w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">north west</st1:State></st1lace> again.

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<o></o>Ah, now where was this again? Cant remember exactly, but not far from Nanango. Last thing I expected to see was mud, even a little bit like this. And look at that grass , theyve obviously had a lot more rain out here than closer to the coast.

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<o></o>Bloody beautiful day. High 20s, with a gentle breeze. Just cruising along, taking my time and this looks like a nice little spot for

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<o></o> ..lunch.

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<o></o>On the ..err road err again. Thatd be the <st1lace w:st="on"><st1laceName w:st="on">Bunya</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">Mountains</st1laceType></st1lace> off to the south there. From there the Great Divide swings around to the north, making it to the west of where I am now. Get it?.....cause Im not sure I do!

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<o></o>And right on cue, theres a bit of it to the west now. This district is known as Ironpot. Im guessing that (there, centre distance) is the geographical feature the name is taken from.

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<o></o>But I could be wrong. Maybe its named after this ..the Ironpot Farmers Hall.

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<o></o>Now, this is the type of gate I like and lovely light springs too!

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<o></o>Nice little spot on the creek, by the (quiet) roadside. Filed for reference as a future possible campsite.

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<o></o>Up the road a bit I followed the dingo fence for .well about long enough to take this photo really. Theres a good gravel road running parallel about 10 metres away.

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<o></o>Some people must have penalty units to burn. There were a couple of gates open along here.

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<o></o>Sounds scary. Luckily, well before nightfall I plan to be well and truly ensconced in the safe and luxurious surrounds of .

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<o></o> .the Jandowae Hotel. I thought Id travel a bit lighter and shout myself a room. It was alright .Clean sheets, clean and modern bathroom facilities and you cant complain at $30.00 a night. I still reckon Ill be back to camping next time.

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<o></o>Early the next morning I had breakfast in the park and went for a bit of a stroll around town. Jandowae is a pleasant town though its probably fair to say not the bustling centre it obviously once was.

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<o></o>Railway freight crane. The old branch line from Dalby is long gone.

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<o></o>Bottle trees tell you youre west of the Great Divide (just) Conadamine catchment around here. As the dingo fence goes all the way to <st1lace w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">South Australia</st1:State></st1lace> so does (a lot of) the water.

Good report woop
Those paniers of yours what have you put in to give them the permanent hard pannier shape , and what are the straps you use they look very good?
im doing a 6 day 5 night camping ride to Barrington tops 2nd of march if your interested

Good stuff Woop. I'm a little jealous.
Kids are back to school next week, so I will be planning on having some little adventures of my own.
Post if your free for a day ride and I will rip down to Gympie or meet at Tiaro.

From Jandowae I looped up around <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1lace w:st="on"><st1laceName w:st="on">Diamondy</st1laceName> <st1laceType w:st="on">State</st1laceType> <st1laceType w:st="on">Forest</st1laceType></st1lace> to Durong.I had planned to cut across through the forest, but was intercepted by a lovely lady in a big Landcruiser who soon put paid to that idea. According to her, grazing lease rights trump everything..all roads closed!.

Ah well, it looked a bit lonely anyway, so I just went around the long way.
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>Looking at the topo map at home I saw a racecourse marked, out in the middle of nowhere near Chapingah, an old soldier settlement area south east of Durong. I thought Id check it out, not really expecting to find anything except maybe a few ruins.

<o></o>Instead I came around a corner to be confronted by the biggest flashest bush racecourse set up youve ever seen!

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<o></o>The partys over? (I swear.I did not set that up)

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<o></o>Now Im getting back down towards Ironpot again. There was a newer house back down a bit on the other side of the road. No sooner had I got off the bike here when the whole family ( 3 Polaris quad loads) converged on me ..just seeing what I was up to. The bloke was telling me that the racecourse back up the road is Burrandowan they conduct a pretty big annual race meeting there.

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<o></o>Down and across to Alice Creek at the base of the Bunya Mountains, highest part of South East Qld. until you get into the border ranges.

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<o></o>I was struck by the number of horses I saw on the trip, some fine looking animals too.Think I read somewhere that there are far more horses in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Australia</st1lace></st1:country-region> today, than ever at the height of the horse drawn era. Easy to believe.

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<o></o>I shouldve taken more picures on this next section, but isnt that always the way with the best bits?

When you walk the Barker Creek circuit from Dandabah at the top of the Bunya Mountains you can go to the top of Big Falls, where Barker Creek goes over a sheer rock cliff near the the North East boundary of the National Park. I thought Id see if I could find a track to get in close enough to see the falls from the bottom.

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<o></o>Im pretty sure the track goes in off one of these roads. Trouble is, the post turns in the ground and the signs spin on the post. Its times like this, youre grateful for FlatEarthTM.

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<o></o>Early Australian Beware of the Dog sign?Actually, it mustve been the people that gave their name to Barkers Creek.

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<o></o>I shouldve taken more pics in here, but too late now. I found the track and got a few kays in before it started to get a little bit rough and I had a growing awareness of being in there all alone. Then while going up a little hill slow in first gear I ran over a big Red Belly Black snake. That decided it . this photo is taken just after I turned around!

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<o></o>Reckon I was close, though. Im pretty sure the falls are just up in there somewhere. I backtracked a bit and tried another side track (Ive a feeling they may form a loop) but caution got the better of me again. Ill go back in company.

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<o></o>Back up the track a bit, I came upon this at the entrance of an otherwise unmarked track leading off into the bush. I read it as No Trespassing and just quietly moved on.

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<o></o>Heading north again now. With a bit of planning you can go all the way from the Bunyas up to Murgon (or further if you want) with hardly any bitumen.

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<o></o>Most of it is real nice gravel roads like this.

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<o></o>Mixed with a bit of other interesting but easy stuff. This is a section of a road that runs from just east of Kingaroy north towards Wondai.

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Another bit of the same road. Doesnt see much traffic but easy to find and fenced on both sides.

Good stuff Woop. I'm a little jealous.
Kids are back to school next week, so I will be planning on having some little adventures of my own.
Post if your free for a day ride and I will rip down to Gympie or meet at Tiaro.

Good report woop
Those paniers of yours what have you put in to give them the permanent hard pannier shape , and what are the straps you use they look very good?
im doing a 6 day 5 night camping ride to Barrington tops 2nd of march if your interested

instead of the straps shown in that thread, I now use Gotcha brand straps.....simple, effective and cheap. I've used their online system and found they will post to Australia.http://www.gotchastraps.co.nz/

Great write up that has given me some ideas. I am on leave all next week and plan on exploring some of that part of the world to learn a few roads if anyone is interested in riding during the week once Huey settles down.
A work colleague based out of Toowoomba has just bought a new Tiger and, weather gods permitting, he and I will do a run next weekend through that way so learning some roads ahead of that will help.
I'll be on the look out for the book of maps given that it might be tough for Woopwoop to upload the .flteth file from his tankbag display unit.

That's a great ride! I am too looking for a ride like this to get my VStrom dirty! Looks nice and not too hard. Can you PM me if you're going this ride again soon? Looks like it would be nice to camp out there. I'm at Rothwell (near Redcliffe), so not too far away.